Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a lovely lot of MP 40 Submachine Gun parts, acquired as part of a larger collection, which look to have been kept as spares for some kind of future MP 40 project. It's possible that they are leftovers from a gun that was highly damaged, and were kept to make a display all on their own.

This parts lot includes the following:

- Live MP 40 Barrel with front sight, resting bar, and barrel nut. The muzzle nut is missing, but those can be relatively easily sourced. The left side of the barrel is marked with serial number 9588 / d, and the front sight base and barrel nut are marked with shortened number 588. There are also several Waffenamt WaA623 inspector proofs, which is associated with Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Werk Steyr, the legendary Austrian arms company.

The chamber is still intact, and the bore is in very good condition, showing strong lands and grooves with a partly bright finish. There is some past oxidation and fouling in the grooves, but this is definitely in better shape than most barrels we see. As these are no longer importable, live barrels are especially desirable.

- MP 40 Stripped Lower Frame with folding butt stock. This has had all of the internals and bakelite removed, and is just the trigger frame and butt stock, which is fully functional with a working latch. The front tang of the trigger guard is marked with serial number 9588 / d, along with Waffenamt WaA623, and the two sides of the butt stock are marked with shortened number 588. This not only means that the butt stock was not swapped out, but that the frame matches the barrel, and they were originally part of the same gun.

- MP 40 Bakelite Stock, Broken into three pieces. These three pieces are definitely from the same stock, and there is only a small amount of material missing. It could most likely be glued and restored for display relatively easily.

- MP 40 Bakelite Grip Plates. The right grip plate is still fully intact, however the left has had the bushing and inlet for it break off.

- MP 40 Magazine Stripped Shell. It is correctly marked MP. 38 u. 40 on the side, with maker code fxo 41 on the back for C.G. Haenel of Suhl, production 1941. It also bears the correct Waffenamt 37 code for this factory.

A great chance to pick up some MP 40 SMG parts that we rarely have available!

History of the MP40

The Maschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor the MP 38, which was in turn based on the MP 36, a prototype made of machined steel. The MP 36 was developed independently by Erma Werke's Berthold Geipel with funding from the German Army. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP. Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. The MP 38 was a simplification of the MP 36, and the MP 40 was a further simplification of the MP 38, with certain cost-saving alterations, most notably in the more extensive use of stamped steel rather than machined parts.

It was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war. It was often erroneously called "Schmeisser" by the Allies, despite Hugo Schmeisser's non-involvement in the weapon's design and production. From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke.